Hardly A Bedtime Story
by meg
Summary: There once was a princess who— No! Not that one Dad! I want to hear how you met and married mum . . . ^Harry Potter had to leave the wizarding world, he felt as if there was no other choice . . . (Be warned: May contain traces of Humour)
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise, and I probably don't own the things you can't recognise ^_^ On with the story . . .  
  
Hardly A Bedtime Story  
  
"Daddy, I want to hear a story." The little eight-year-old girl requested of the tall, dark haired man.  
  
"Okay Melissa. There was once a beautiful, red haired princess who was so good to all her family and friends. She-"  
  
"Dad!" Melissa interrupted giggling, "Not that one. I want to hear how you and mummy met and how you married her and wooed her."  
  
"Wooed her?" The man started laughing.  
  
"I heard mummy use that word. Stop laughing at me! Start telling me a story!" The little girl crossed her arms in a huff. The man tried to stop chuckling.  
  
"Okay, well I'll start in my last year at Hogwarts."  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry walked down the surprisingly silent corridor. He didn't want to be alone with his thoughts. Hah, he thought, I don't want to be alone. He laughed dryly then wondered why no one was there whom he could just sit with. He didn't want to talk about what happened, he just wanted to listen to others talk. Have a sense of normalcy again. But it seemed that everyone had abandoned him. No, that's not right, he thought. They're just celebrating.  
  
He stuck his hands in his pockets and continued on walking.  
  
'Harry! There you are. Everyone's looking for you!' Hermione came rushing towards him.  
  
'What do you mean? Why is everyone looking for me?'  
  
'Because they all want to talk to the hero! Come on!' Hermione had been this cheerful ever since Harry had returned. She was of course elated at the turn of events but Harry knew that Ron had finally woken up to himself and told Hermione how he felt. He was happy of course, but a bit miffed that they felt they needed to keep everything from him.  
  
'I don't really feel like talking at the moment, Herm.' Harry protested.  
  
'Nonsense.' Hermione dragged Harry to the Great Hall where it seemed everyone was waiting for him.  
  
'Harry, the man of the hour. Or better yet, the century!!' Indeed, everyone was there. Including the Minister for Magic who announced Harry in this jovial manner. 'Now, Harry. We want to know exactly what went on! Tell us every single detail.' The Great Hall had gone silent with anticipation.  
  
'You want to know every single detail?' Harry asked in disbelief.  
  
'Yes! Come now Harry. Tell us.'  
  
'People died, innocent people! I saw my friends being murdered by a madman. I saw Lord Voldemort torture and kill anyone he felt the need to. Even his own followers.' Harry looked around at everyone in the Hall who were now looking appalled, whether at themselves or him, Harry didn't care.  
  
'You want to hear what happened?' He continued, 'I murdered the son of a bitch. I did exactly what he did to my friends. I brought myself down to his level and killed him. You want the details? You want to celebrate blood shed on my hands and many others?' The Great Hall was deathly silent. No one dared to breathe.  
  
'I didn't think so.'  
  
Harry turned around and exited the Great Hall, leaving everyone in shock. If even a slight breeze had made its way into the Hall, each and every person would have been knocked over. No one could believe what had just happened. They were happy and joyful one moment and then it all came crashing down. The effect of this was to blame someone and each one of the occupants of the Great Hall wanted to be angry at Harry Potter for making them question themselves but underneath it all they knew he had been right. So many people had lost their lives over more than two decades. But they were alive so why shouldn't they celebrate? The noise resumed in the Great Hall and it was if Harry had never even entered.  
  
Outside the Great Hall, the famous Boy-Who-Lived was leaning against the opposite wall, cursing himself for blowing up. There was an upside though, he thought, perhaps they might take a look around and see what really happened.  
  
'Nope,' He said to himself as the noise started up again in the Great Hall, 'Once again they've decided to bury their heads in the sand.'  
  
'That, or put on the rose-tinted glasses.' Professor Dumbledore walked up to Harry. 'Your re-introduction to society didn't go too well, did it Harry.'  
  
'Ask a stupid question.. Sorry Professor. I don't think I can really deal with all this.' He gestured toward the Great Hall. 'So many people I cared for are now dead. How can they see that as a reason to celebrate?'  
  
'Yes I know what you are saying Harry. But look at it like this, now no one else has to die at the hands of Voldemort.'  
  
'There are still so many people out there who want revenge, Professor. How do we know that they won't start up another following like Voldemort did?'  
  
'We don't know Harry.' The Headmaster shook his head sadly. 'It's the ways of the world, Magical and Non-magical, unfortunately.'  
  
'I'd rather be in the muggle world right now than in this world. I don't know if I can limit myself to simply lecturing people about celebrating so much carnage.'  
  
'Perhaps you should go then.'  
  
'Are you suggesting I run away, Sir?' Harry raised his eyebrows at the Professor.  
  
'That is one way of looking at it. Or it could simply be a way of you avoiding causing damage to yourself or others.'  
  
'You think that I would really hurt anyone?' Harry asked quietly.  
  
'Intentionally, no I do not. But you are more powerful than you realise Harry and-'  
  
'Then I will go. Send me away Sir.' He pushed himself off of the wall and waited for the Professor.  
  
"I'm not sending you away Harry.'  
  
'I know Sir. Merely stating my willingness to oblige you.'  
  
'Shut up Harry.' Dumbledore smiled at the young man before him.  
  
'Can do.' Harry followed his Professor to the Head Office.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Daddy! Did Professor Dumbledore really tell you to shut up?" The little girl looked up at her father in awe.  
  
"He did, Melissa. But by then I had come to think of Professor Dumbledore as a great friend and you must remember he isn't the strict Headmaster that Jamie tells you about every summer." The man smiled down at his daughter.  
  
"But he's so old!" She said innocently. Then, "And you swore Daddy! Son-of- a-bitch! Son-of-a-bitch!"  
  
"Indeed I did. But if you repeat any of it then it will be no ice cream for a month, young lady." The little girl shut her mouth quickly. "Good. Now where was I?"  
  
"You were just about to leave the magical world." Melissa snuggled down into her covers as her dad continued the story.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
'Harry, do you want to talk to anyone or say goodbye before you leave?' Professor Dumbledore stood at the Hogsmeade station, watching the seventeen- year-old boy before him.  
  
'No, I'm packed and ready to go. It will be too hard to leave if I have to say goodbye to people.' Harry answered. 'You'll look after everything of mine?'  
  
'Of course Harry. And don't forget to look for Dorian Ferroy when you get to King's Cross.' The train pulled up at that moment. 'Goodbye Harry and remember we are always here when you want to return.'  
  
'If that happens.' He said dryly. 'Good bye Professor.' Harry grabbed his transfigured suitcase and boarded the train without looking back. He passed several compartments full of strange people before he found an empty one and settled down for a long trip all alone.  
  
* * *  
  
'Harry! Get your skinny little arse up and out of bed this very minute!'  
  
'Mmph,' was the reply.  
  
'Harry,' A girl in her early twenties was standing in the doorway waving a wooden spoon around. She had short brown hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion. Many of the guys she met fell head over heels in love with her but to Harry she was just a mega annoyance, much like a sister.  
  
'Harry,' She began again, waving the spoon, 'If you're late for your job again then they will have to fire you. You do know that don't you?'  
  
Harry rolled over to face her, 'Good.' He rolled over again so that she couldn't see him grinning.  
  
'Harry bloody Potter! Get up! Get up! You know that Dorian will kill both of us if you're late! And if you don't move this very second then I will be forced to use violence.' She waved the spoon threateningly.  
  
'I was wondering what you were doing with the spoon.' Harry swung his legs over the side of the bed, 'Ugh, manual labour. How I love it.' Harry groaned, thinking of his job. He worked with Dorian Ferroy, the man Dumbledore had said would meet him at the station, who owned a construction company. At the moment they were working on building a house right around the corner from where Harry lived which meant that Dorian didn't come to pick Harry up and make sure he was on time.  
  
'Actually I'm cooking for my boyfriend.' The girl announced proudly.  
  
'Oh, no Shaz. Please tell me you're not cooking!' Harry begged.  
  
'Unfortunately, dude, she is.' A man a little older than Sharon (or Shaz) poked his head in through the door. 'And you'd better hurry if you want to get to your job on time.'  
  
'I find that offensive! You can both go and screw yourselves. God knows no one else will.' Shaz stormed out of Harry's room. 'Oh and by the way Jordan, no one uses the word dude anymore. Get with the times.' She called over her shoulder  
  
'Ooo! Touchy! And why aren't you both at work?' Harry asked Jordan who was just about to walk off.  
  
'Shaz has the day off and I'm just leaving. See you tonight if we still have a house after Shaz has been cooking.'  
  
'I HEARD THAT!'  
  
Harry laughed and started getting ready. He had been living in this two- story house with five other people, plus the owner, for nearly a year now. The owner, Miranda, was old and enjoyed having young people around her so the rent was really cheap, the basis of it's appeal. Harry had been living with Dorian and his wife for a year and a half after he left the magic world, then he moved out when a room became available in Miranda's House, where he was currently staying.  
  
Jordan, Sharon and Harry were only three of the occupants of the house. There were two other girls, Emily who they hardly ever saw, and Anna who was the oldest, minus Miranda, at twenty-seven. It was also rumoured around the house that Emily was going to move out soon. Then there was also another male in the house. His name was Brent and he thought he was God's gift to woman. He was extremely obnoxious and none of the house-mates liked being around him.  
  
'Harry!' Shaz shouted up the stairs.  
  
'Alright! I'm coming! Jesus woman, you are crazy.' Harry walked into the kitchen still pulling on a boot. 'I'm not even going to ask what you're making.' He said eyeing the mess all over the benches and sink.  
  
'Well then I'm not going to tell you. How old are you now Harry? Twenty at last count and you still need to be woken up in the morning to get ready for work! You must have been horrible at that boarding school of yours. Now get out of here boy.' She had replaced the wooden spoon with a knife so Harry didn't want to argue with her.  
  
'Gone.' He grabbed a piece of toast that was on the bench and ran out of the house.  
  
'Hey! That was mine!'  
  
Harry looked at his watch as he walked to the construction site. He was going to be late if he didn't hurry so he started to run but his mind was elsewhere. There was a reason why he hadn't gotten up on time. He had been having dreams again, more like nightmares. But these ones had actually happened to him, which was why it was so unnerving. Everything was so real, seeing most of his friends die in front of him and reliving the terror again made for a fitful sleep. He had finally fallen asleep again as dawn broke but couldn't seem to wake when his alarm went off in the morning.  
  
Harry hated remembering what had happened. For a while he had hated almost everything to do with magic but his hatred had narrowed down now to just a few things, most of all that fatal night when he had lost so much that he held dear to him. He had lost his godfather Sirius, one of his mentors Remus, two friends that were like brothers to him from the Weasley Family, Percy and Bill. And these were only a few of those who died at the hand of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He also lost the girl that he loved that night.  
  
'No, don't think about it.' Harry muttered to himself.  
  
'Think 'bout what Hazza?' A tall burly man stemmed his thoughts and brought him back to the present day. Without knowing it Harry had arrived at the construction site.  
  
'Nothing Andy.' He replied shaking his head.  
  
'Right, well Dorian wants to see ya.' Andy nodded his towards where Dorian was.  
  
'But I'm not late!' Harry complained.  
  
'Hey! Don't complain to tha messenga!' Andy held his hands up in defence. Harry shook his head and made his way over to see Dorian.  
  
'Nice to see you're not late Harry! This arrived for you last night.' Dorian handed over an envelope to Harry.  
  
'Oh, I forgot about this. Thanks Dorian.' Harry took the envelope and put it in his back pocket forgetting about it for the time being. He knew it was from Dumbledore telling him what was happening in the magical world and asking after him. The professor sent one to Harry every two months to check up on him and out of politeness Harry sent one back through Dorian.  
  
'To work now Harry.'  
  
~~~~~  
  
Harry arrived late back from his job. The workers had decided to go to the local pub to cool down and they offered to buy for Harry. When he came in through the door, he sensed something was wrong. It was an annoying but helpful habit of his, to be able to sense a change in the atmosphere around him. Something, no doubt, to do with his magical talent.  
  
'Harry, mate, get out while you can!' Jordan and Brent where making a mad dash for the door.  
  
'Wait!' He said panicked, but they didn't hear him. Anna was also making for the door. 'Anna! What's happened?'  
  
Anna looked around before speaking, 'Shaz was stood up! I can deal with the bagging of men but not the weeping!' Anna pushed Harry out of the way before going out the door and closing it.  
  
'Who's that?' Harry heard from the top of the stairs.  
  
'It's me, Harry. How was your day?' He started up the stairs.  
  
'It was fine!' Harry breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that perhaps the others had got it wrong. 'Until that bastard Corey didn't show up! I spent the whole day making dinner for the two of us and he didn't SHOW UP!'  
  
'Sharon,' Harry was now standing in the doorway to her room. 'Have you rung him yet to find out why?'  
  
'Yes!' Sharon was sitting under her duvet, her chin on her knees, hugging the covers to her.  
  
'And what did he say?'  
  
'He said that he thinks we should see other people. And that he had already begun doing that!' She wailed.  
  
'Bastard!' Harry tried not to smirk.  
  
'I know!' She agreed. 'Wait! You're teasing me aren't you! Harr-eee!'  
  
'I'm not! Honest!' Harry jumped onto the bed next to her, 'Would I lie to you?' He grinned at her.  
  
'Yes. In a heart beat.' She pushed him away.  
  
'Come here.' He pulled her into a hug and she laid her head on his shoulder.  
  
'What's wrong with me? Why didn't he like me?' She asked desperately.  
  
'There's to be none of that because you know there isn't a thing wrong with you. I can only handle so much girly stuff.' He stopped her before she got any further.  
  
'Pooh, you smell.' Sharon wrinkled her nose in disgust.  
  
'Well, I would have showered but you were sobbing hysterically here and I didn't think it was wise to leave you alone.'  
  
'Cheeky git.' She said smacking him.  
  
'Okay here's the deal.' Harry stood up and faced her. 'I go and shower and then we can eat whatever it is that you made and to hell with the bastard that stood you up. Okay?'  
  
Sharon mumbled something incoherently.  
  
'Pardon I missed that?'  
  
Sharon tried again.  
  
'Sorry, you're going to have to speak up.'  
  
'I threw it around the kitchen. Right now it's probably all around the walls and floor.' She said quietly.  
  
'Shaz!' Harry dropped back on the bed. 'You are insane. Okay, new plan.' Harry got up again. 'We clean the kitchen, then I'll make us my famous toasted sandwiches and we can watch T.V. Deal?' Sharon nodded meekly. 'This means you have to get out of bed.' Harry turned around and went to shower.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Well that was Sharon." Harry looked down at his sleeping daughter and sighed. 'Good night Melissa.' He bent down and kissed her forehead before pulling the duvet up to cover the little girl. He stood and turned off the light, then walked silently out of the room deep in thought.  
  
While he didn't exactly like swearing in front of his daughter, he knew that she had already heard most of it from her brother. And USED all of it on her brother, he chuckled to himself. There were some things though that he didn't want his little daughter to know. Most of it was what actually happened that night he had 'defeated' Voldemort. But the other thing was the reason why he had really left the wizarding world. How he had lost the love of his life the first time.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry had just arrived back from his whole ordeal with Voldemort. When it was found out that Voldemort was no more, everyone arrived to celebrate and invited Harry to join in after his injuries been healed. Harry needed to get away from everyone, he had no reason to celebrate. But most of all Harry wanted to talk to, needed to talk to, Ginny Weasley.  
  
He had liked her for a long time, but when he saw how Voldemort used everyone he cared about to get to him, he couldn't bear to put Ginny in that kind of danger. He pushed her away, knowing how much it hurt her but not being able to stop himself from protecting those that he loved.  
  
Now that Voldemort was dead, he thought, I can finally tell her how I really feel. I can apologise to her for treating her so badly.  
  
Harry quickened his pace. When he had looked in the Gryffindor common room and found that she wasn't there, he asked some of her friends and giggling, they told him where to find her. She was somewhere near the Astronomy Tower, according to her friends and Harry now began to run unable to stop himself.  
  
He opened some of the doors, not knowing exactly where she was and found each one empty. He was about to give up when he heard a giggle from up ahead. A broad grin spread on his face and he walked towards the door. He threw it open and walked through the door, still grinning.  
  
'Ginny, I'm glad I found.. you.' He trailed off, the smile completely gone from his face. In front of him Ginny Weasley was tangled up in another boy's arms. Not his. Harry didn't even register who the other person was. All he could see was Ginny and her appalled face as she looked at him.  
  
'Harry, I. Um, let me explain.'  
  
'Don't bother Ginny.' Harry's face had completely closed up. There was no trace of emotions. He turned around and walked out of the room.  
  
'Harry!' Ginny ran after him and grabbed his arm. 'Harry, we're not going out! Why are you so upset?'  
  
'You're right, Ginny.' Harry said quietly. 'I have no reason to be upset. We aren't together.'  
  
'Harry, are you okay?' Ginny asked still holding his arm.  
  
'Fine. I'm sorry, please continue.' He waved his arm towards the room they were in before. 'Don't let me stop you.' He said coldly, shrugging off her hand and walking off.  
  
It was a little while later when Hermione found him and made him go to the Great Hall and 'celebrate'.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N: Well I hope you liked the first chapter! This story is hopefully going to be longer than my other one but there is no way I'm going to be able to post as often as I did. I had planned on writing a lot of this story before I posted it but that didn't happen so I'm sorry but please bare with me!  
  
Please review! I live on reviews! 


	2. Author's Note

Author's Note: Okay, I have to apologise to anyone who was disappointed that I  
  
haven't updated..well, actually haven't written anymore for this story. In my other  
  
story I did say that I was going to write another one, but I had no idea how tough  
  
yr.11 was gonna be. I may try again at this story or a different one in a couple of  
  
months but don't hold your breathe ( I'm so sorry but a big thankyou to those who  
  
reviewed. You have no idea how it makes me feel to get feedback (especially the  
  
positive kind) and I love going back to read my reviews ( Thanks again and my  
  
apologies,  
  
meg 


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